Total number of video games released?

[badinsults]

I'm pondering a wide ranging project, and have been thinking about the total number of video games ever released. Certainly, the figure is probably over 20 000, if you include all releases since the 70s, including releases in Japan and Europe. What is your guess?

[buzz_n64]

Though, it's theoretically possible ,if funding into research was done on this, I think a true number would be basically impossible to come up with. Various different regions, homebrew, titles still being released...

However, I'll make a wild guess of 50,000.

[ADJB]

I'm pondering a wide ranging project, and have been thinking about the total number of video games ever released. Certainly, the figure is probably over 20 000, if you include all releases since the 70s, including releases in Japan and Europe. What is your guess?

20,000 is a ridiculously low number.

Consider :-

Sinclair Spectrum (UK machine) - 29782 Known Games (Source World of Spectrum)

Commodore 64 - 4101 Known Games (Lemon 64)

Commodore Amiga - 3453 Known Games (Lemon Amiga)

N64 - 2618 games minimum (ROM World)

Arcade Games - 6500+ games (mame ROM's)

SNES - 3139 minimum - (The ROM's on my HD)

So that's ~50,000 without even considering PS?, Gameboy, DS, PC, Atari ST, MSX 1 & 2, Xbox? etc, etc all of which have releases running into the thousands.

Try a start point of 100-150K releases and work up from there.

As a guess I would say you are a "0" out, nearer to 200,000 commercial games and many more released on a non commercial basis.

If you start including smartphones, tablet machines and the new markets like that the numbers will be going up by hundreds every day.

Add in all the flash games on web sites and I would lay a bet that is another 20k (minimum) releases on its own.

If all media is included I wouldn't be surprised by a number north of half a million.

[badinsults]

I think those numbers are a bit inflated. For instance, there is definitely not 2800 N64 games. And as far as SNES is concerned, there are about 1500-1700 releases at most. I wouldn't trust any figures from ROM sites, as they include regional and binary variants as separate entries. Plus you have to consider that many games have been released on multiple platforms. For instance, how many times has Space Invaders been released on different platforms? I don't think that anyone would consider the multitude of homebrew/flash games to be included in a list of console games. Anyone can make a game on a computer, but can they make it to the point where it actually gets officially sold? The World of Spectrum website lists off hundreds of freeware games produced by hobbyists, long after the Spectrum platform was killed off.

[maxlords]

It totally depends on how you count games though? Does each individual release of a title count as a "game"? I'd say for the purposes of a project like this, each retail version might count. Changes the numbers DRASTICALLY. And are you counting North America? Or worldwide? What about handheld stuff like the Tiger devices? You really need to define what you mean better for one. And even with that info, you'll still only get a VERY rough estimate....the numbers literally change DAILY.

[ADJB]

"if you include all releases since the 70s, including releases in Japan and Europe"

As every game released in the US has a different release in Europe due to the difference in TV systems that will give you double numbers to start with - As the original request wanted.

Yes games are released on multiple platforms but again there are fundamental code differences (and frequently actual game differences due the relative strengths / weaknesses of the platforms) and as such can be classed as different games.

If the question is "how many games have been released in total?" you will get a very different answer than asking "how many completely original titles have been released?."

The original post asked for the former not the latter.

The original post made no mention of differentiating commercial and non commercial releases. In fact the request was "the total number of video games ever released".

I don't think that anyone would consider the multitude of homebrew/flash games to be included in a list of console games

I would be the first to agree with that but nowhere was it mentioned in the OP that it was "only" console games to be considered. Take computers out (giving a loose definition of computer as a machine you can type a program in on) and the question again changes completely.

Many of the machines from the '80's (Commodore / Sinclair / Atari / MSX etc etc) were user programmable and hence the massive numbers of commercial games. Of course you have also disqualified every PC game ever released, a number over the last 30 years which will be in the tens of thousands.

For instance, how many times has Space Invaders been released on different platforms?

100's maybe 1000's. But again that was not the question asked. How different does something have to be before it becomes a different game rather than a variant?.

In theory every vertical top down shooter is a variant on Space Invaders but nobody would say that even Galaxians and Space Invaders were the same.

If you want to ask that question then it becomes more like how many genres are there rather than how many games are there.

For example are the Civilisation series or the Command and Conquer series all in fact one game because the basic game dynamics don't really change. Yes, they are different, graphics change, some game aspects change but from playing the first in the series and jumping to the last you would see a lot in common.

Better example - Football Manager on the ZX81. Every football management game is a very direct descendant from there just adding layers of complexity and better graphics but you certainly wouldn't say that Championship Manager 136 (or whatever release its on now) is anything like the same game.

In answer to the original post I stand behind my answer and can prove the numbers but if you want to change the question then my answer is totally invalid and I would ask that you rephrase the question more carefully to get the answer you actually want.

[portnoyd]

Uh, yeah. ROM counts include every dumbass hack put together which has to number in the 10,000s at this point.

I guess Evan's OP should have stated the perimeters.

Do you include:
Disk-based games (like on the C64)
Cart-based games for PCs (Atari 8bit, C64, etc)
PC-based games (even if released on CD)
Prototypes and test games (NES test carts, NWC, etc)
Digital download games (XBLA, Wii VC, etc)
Arcade games (and do you include redemption & gambling games)

Personally, the criteria should be as follows:
A game would count towards the total if it meets the following conditions:
1. Sold at retail on some level, including digitally.
2. Made for a console, portable or standalone arcade system.

This would eliminate all PC games, homebrews and prototypes/test carts. It would include the entire indie section of XBLA, which shouldn't be included. It would trim a lot of the BS that shouldn't really count.

And jesus christ AJDB, give Evan a fucking break. You have to be pretty dense not to realize when he said released, he meant commercially. You're nitpicking on a truly insane level.

[tom]

I always love to show this from EG magazine 1985:


The 8-bit computer with the highest commercially released software count, Apple ][

Anyway, PC software already runs into the 100,000s, including shareware, type-in listings, free games on magazine, internet games etc...but yes, the question must be 'commercially released'.
Spectrum games would be more like 6000, no more.

[ADJB]

Personally, the criteria should be as follows:
A game would count towards the total if it meets the following conditions:
1. Sold at retail on some level, including digitally.
2. Made for a console, portable or standalone arcade system.

This would eliminate all PC games, homebrews and prototypes/test carts. It would include the entire indie section of XBLA, which shouldn't be included. It would trim a lot of the BS that shouldn't really count.

I agree with condition 1 but I don't think you can dismiss all the computer (as opposed to console) games. Many console games were originally based on computer games so I don't see how you can really say that (for example) Red Alert on the 360 counts when all its history is on the PC.

I would lose regional variations (Example US / European releases where its an identical game but tuned for 50Hz rather than 60Hz TV's)

I would lose completely web based games - Flash minigames / Farmville etc

I would lose direct ports between systems by counting only one instance.

And jesus christ AJDB, give Evan a fucking break. You have to be pretty dense not to realize when he said released, he meant commercially.

If you mean commercially as in paid for then all the regional variations were commercial releases as were many games where the commercial aspect was very small. For example I have a game which only sold 12 copies due to legal action regarding copyright infringement. Is that commercial?.

All I ask is clarity in the question. The OP asked for "total number of video games ever released" with no mention of commercial or console only so that was what I answered.

[ADJB]

Spectrum games would be more like 6000, no more.

Interesting - I already have more than that.

See Sig.

Not happy - See

http://www.zxsoftware.co.uk/Loft/PA050008.JPG
http://www.zxsoftware.co.uk/Loft/PA050009.JPG
http://www.zxsoftware.co.uk/Loft/PA050010.JPG
http://www.zxsoftware.co.uk/Loft/PA050011.JPG
http://www.zxsoftware.co.uk/Loft/PA050015.JPG
http://www.zxsoftware.co.uk/Loft/PA050018.JPG

and fill in the gaps between PA050007 and PA050018.JPG for the non Spectrum stuff.

[Swamperon]

I would hazard a guess in the region of 40,000 - 60,000. I believe Rfgeneration has over 50,000 in its database, which is probably one of the most complete on the internet.

A true figure would take too much time/resources to find out. And as we can see, the parameters would be hard to define.

[tom]

Doubtful Spectrum has more than C64 releases, as Spectrum only had UK releases, whereas C64 had UK, Germany and loads of USA releases.

[ADJB]

Doubtful Spectrum has more than C64 releases, as Spectrum only had UK releases, whereas C64 had UK, Germany and loads of USA releases.

I agree that it's strange but unless you can tell me a more complete C64 resource than Lemon I have to rely on that for guidance.

The Spectrum also had a big following in Spain and some following in most of western Europe. Another big "Spectrum" country was the USSR as it was a very easy machine to make clones of whereas the C64 had too many specialised chips to make it easy to rip off. (And of course US export controls didn't help)

The main differences I would suggest is twofold.

Realistically C64 carts could only be released by big commercial companies rather than individual coders or small start ups. Hence a much more controlled market of releases. To a degree the same would apply to the Disc releases. The cheap option, Audio cassettes, were painfully slow to load on the Commodore machines so had less appeal to the purchaser. The spectrum used cheap audio cassettes with comparatively fast loading so the cost of entering the market was substantially less.

The Spectrum had a lot of games released by "back bedroom coders" in small quantities either through mail order or by the coder themselves attending a show and selling direct to the public. This much less controlled market allowed an easy, low cost way to release games. I haven't seen that sort of thing in the C64 scene to anything like the same extent.

Of course that can, and did, lead to a lot of dross being released but that's still true today. Shovelware isn't new.

[tom]

There were loads of bedroom coders for C64, Apple ][ and even Atari 800, just look at the back pages in Antic, Analog, Run, Ahoy, Byte, Compute, Happy Computer, 64er, Input 64, etc.....also, some of these magazine had squillions of listings to type in for the above 3 machines.
Just check out the PD (disk) catalogues for Apple ][, stuff people coded and sold via mail-order or at USA computer fairs, and those fairs where 3 - 4 times the size of a UK computer fair. And most (if not all) of these were disk titles, as this was the norm in USA (and even in Germany).

You're just seeing it from a UK perspective, think international, eg USA, Germany, and even the rest of Europe.
Spectrum was not the only computer popular in Spain.

But I agree with you with internet resources for computers, they are completely exaggerated, look at GB64, they list 88 Boulder Dash titles (they're just home made screens for Boulder Dash from BCK). Look at AtariMania's Atari 800 pages, they list many titles double, even triple, and also contruction type screens like Lode Runner, Boulder Dash, PCS etc.
Hell, AtariMania even lists OVER 7000 different Atari VCS cartridge titles (which is very clever wording, as many of those are actually the same games over and over)!
This stands true for all internet resources, even WoS.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

I believe you would be able to get a close count if you call Gamespot and ask them. Every video game in existence seems to have a page on their site. There must be a master file over there.

Allgame would be another good site to ask.

[MachineGex]

Yeah, I think this question needs to be comercial release for console systems. I might even think adding released in the US would serve this question better. Maybe have two questions:
1. How many comercially released games came out for console systems in the USA?
&
2. How many comercially released games came out for console systems worldwide? (counting games released in different countries as one release)


Any guesses?

[portnoyd]

I agree with condition 1 but I don't think you can dismiss all the computer (as opposed to console) games. Many console games were originally based on computer games so I don't see how you can really say that (for example) Red Alert on the 360 counts when all its history is on the PC.

You can't take personal preference and emotion into the discussion of what to include if you want a factual list. The history of a series is completely irrelevant to whether or not a title should be included.

Not to speak for Evan, but he says console games in his last response. That eliminates anything on the PC/MAC and just leaves open the window for C64/Atari 8Bit/Etc. What he sees as released are titles made available for retail sale during the lifespan of the system, most of which has been defined on this very site.

Concerning hybrid machines, the best course of action is to drop disc/tape published games from the discussion and just leave games released on carts for those systems. I understand where Evan is coming from and he is thinking videogames released on cart/CD/DVD, the relevant media for the different time periods that consoles were released. It puts away a great deal of titles that are very clearly grey area as well.

[Bojay1997]

I always love to show this from EG magazine 1985:


The 8-bit computer with the highest commercially released software count, Apple ][

Anyway, PC software already runs into the 100,000s, including shareware, type-in listings, free games on magazine, internet games etc...but yes, the question must be 'commercially released'.
Spectrum games would be more like 6000, no more.

I don't buy the Apple II figures. I got my first Apple in 1981 and by 1986, it was completely dead on the commercial software front. It was commercially supported from roughly 1980 through 1986. Yes, I know there were releases before and after those dates, but I'm talking commercial support in the US with non-Apple specific stores actually stocking games. If you're counting every public domain or shareware title, I'm sure it is over 20K, but for actual commercial releases, it is roughly the same or possibly less than the Commodore 64. The Commodore 64 seems to have had a longer commercial life going from roughly 1982 to about 1989 in the US and even longer in the UK and parts of Europe. As for the Spectrum vs. C64 debate, the vast majority of US C64 games were released in the UK by various companies including US Gold and others, so I don't think you really have a vast number of US only titles, especially with all the piracy that went on and grey market importing. I know when I used to visit in 1987-1989, there were several high street stores that literally had regular US releases on disc for sale.

In any event, this is an interesting question, but a very difficult one, especially if you add in computers but narrow it to particular regions since even the best sites currently available don't necessarily have comprehensive release lists.

[maxlords]

When you say console only you eliminate EVERY computer system, the C64, the Apple IIe, the Adam, the Atari ST....everything.

You also eliminate the vast majority of games out there

Console only begins with built-in consoles like Pong and Pong clones in the US (assuming we're limiting to N. America only, and not, say....Japan and Europe and S. America). That narrows it down significantly further.

Then the only decisions left are whether to only include OFFICIAL console releases, or to also include pirate games, knockoffs, reprints, remakes, retail variants (all 6 Lunar Sega CD discs for example) and other variants (Genesis cardboard vs. clamshell boxes). Then...still....good luck counting it all up.

[Emuaust]

blah blah blah I HAVE 1000's of games.

If you came to this site and thread just to show off your ePenis then congrats, you just made yourself look like a douche!

Evan, this is going to be truly an insane thing to define and I personally would be interested to know how many console games have been released.